“The Scandinavian sense diet is focused on whole foods and doesn’t eliminate any foods for anyone. It’s all about portion control using your own hands as a guide on how your meals should look,” she says.

She adds the diet is simple because it doesn’t involve counting calories or restricting yourself from certain food groups — of course, it is important to remember exercise is just as important as a balanced diet.

“It’s about scaling back on the foods you already eat and making sure vegetables are always in every meal. The focus is on vegetables — which we all need more have and lean protein,” she continues. “Each meal is to be thought of a meal box dairy is also allowed consisting of 300 ml of milk products a day.

What a meal can look like

The dietitian’s own meals can include anything from an egg, half an avocado, a handful of cherry tomatoes and bread with peanut butter and banana slices for breakfast, to beef salad with onions, tomatoes, cabbage and cheese for dinner. For men and children, she suggests pasta with this dish instead of cabbage.

Registered dietitian Nicole Osinga says she wouldn’t even consider this a diet. “Diet usually implies restriction and I don’t recommend diets. I teach lifestyle changes that are realistic, effective and sustainable,” she tells Global News.

She adds eating in smaller portions means getting full with a well-rounded meal.

“It’s realistic and sustainable. It’s calorie counting without calorie counting. I often see people ‘fall off’ diets because they’re hard to keep maintain or calorie counting is too much.”

Missing parts

And like any dietary lifestyle, it’s important not get lost or obsessive over the details.

Allidina says while this is an easy template to follow, there is no mention for water intake, which is crucial for weight loss. She adds that during the first two weeks of the diet, it is recommended not to snack between meals — which could cause issues for some who have long gaps between meals. There also isn’t mention for people who tend to eat out a lot.

“It may take more planning and organizing, since restaurant portions are always generous. However, if you do have many diet restrictions based on a health condition, you may need something more structured. If you have more ethnic foods, it will require a bit of figuring out which foods you will need to adjust,” she says.

Osinga adds portions can also change depending on the person’s body size. “A male who weighs over 200 lbs and has a large amount of lean body mass would likely need two handfuls of protein,” she says.

Make it fit you

But both experts (as well as Wengel) agree that if you want to start eating smaller portions, lose weight or make room for more vegetables, this is the route to follow.

“I really like that you can adjust a meal box, so you can plan ahead if you are going out to dinner so you don’t feel restricted. Cutting back on your carbs to allow for alcohol and treats is also an option, which she further explains in her book,” Allidina says, adding that making a change like this means slow and steady progress towards your goals.

“This diet gives you flexibility when life happens. The idea is that if you had an indulgent meal, then adjust your next meal accordingly. You can take foods out of one meal box to add to another. This method of eating also works for those with diet restrictions, such as gluten-free, vegetarian, and low carb.”